Volkswagen has announced that its operating profits dropped by more than 12% to €2.015bn (£1.39bn) in 2004 on revenues up 4.9% to €88.96bn (£61.22bn).

Net profit dropped to €717m (£493m), but net cash flow in VW’s automotive operations was €1.87bn, compared with a cash outflow of €2.49bn (£1.71bn) in 2003.